Punisher: Vengeance
by Zach Archer
Summary: The beginning of the story of the Punisher. Frank Castle is out for vengeance for the death of his family. Complete five chapter story found here!


Chapter 1:

The people on the dock stared out at sea. A large aircraft carrier headed for them, the sun setting behind it, making it picturesque. Two planes could be seen silhouetted against the sun. There were no people though.  
A woman held her son in her arms, lifting him so he could see over the people, some crying, some talking, all excited. The boy looked down at his sister, who was jumping up and down in excitement. He was five, and she was seven.  
The ship came closer, and the closer it got, the more tears broke out and streamed down the peoples cheeks.

"Castle." The sergeant yelled on the deck of the aircraft carrier.  
"Yes sir." A man replied, stepping forward from the long line of men in Navy uniforms.  
"You did well out there. The Iraqi's were scared to even hear your name. When you blew up that oil field and took out Siresh Mohammed, you took out one of America's most wanted men. You earned your rank, and you also deserve to take a leave."  
"Thank you sir." Castle replied, his smile broad and glistening. "I wanted to kill that scum. He murdered countless innocents, and sent many of his own men to doom in suicide bombings. He deserves to rot."  
"Well put. Now that you are changing units, I think we can call each other by our first names. Like friends."  
"Luke." Castle said, putting his hand out before him.  
"Frank." Luke clasped Frank's hand and shook it firmly before putting both hands to his sides and moving into a salute. Frank did the same and then got back into the line of men.  
"You are the best men I have, and one of the best is moving up. Now one of you maggots has to take his place. Which one I don't care. See some of you in three weeks, and some of you in the history books."  
Everyone saluted and then ran to the edge of the deck. The ship was stopping, and a bridge was being brought down on the dock. A couple people pulled carts behind them carrying luggage.  
Frank Castle stared at the crowd of people on the dock, but only one person stood out.  
His wife.

Twenty minutes later, they embraced each other. Both of Frank's children hugged either of his legs and when he was done kissing his wife, he bent down and tossled each of the children's hair.  
"Man, you two have grown!" He said and embraced them both.  
"Hey honey, lets grab your luggage and head to Central Park, I have the food waiting in the back of the van." His wife said.  
"YAY A PICNIC!" Both of his children said in unison.  
"I can't wait." Frank smiled and headed toward the luggage carts, his children not far behind him.

"Where we meeting the Bloods?"  
"Central Park. You got the guns?"  
"Of course man! What if there are witnesses?"  
"Kill them."  
"Yessir."

Basket in one hand and his wife's arm in the other, Frank walked down the cobblestone path, his kids not far behind.  
"Susan, I have a bad feeling about something."  
"What?" Susan replied, looking worriedly at Frank. "You're a national hero, whats to be scared of?"  
"A lot of things." He said.  
They continued forward until they got to a clearing.  
And in that clearing, ten men in suits stood, one with a briefcase. On the other side, ten men in white shirts, mexicans, stood, one carrying a suitcase.  
"So, the deal is done?" Asked a thickly accented mexican.  
"Ye..." The man in the suit cut off as he noticed Frank and his family.  
"****, KILL THEM!" Frank acted as fast as he could as the men in suits pulled out their uzi's and started to shoot in both Frank's direction, and the mexicans.  
He first heard his children scream. His vision was then blocked by blood as his wife screamed.  
He then felt something impact his back, and stop inside his stomach. He fell into a world of darkness as the mafiosos finished killing the mexicans.

Chapter 2:

He awoke to a white room. The walls were white, the ceiling was white, the bed sheets he lay in were white, his outfit was white.  
A radio built into the ceiling was play "Hotel California". On a table beside the bed sat a vase containing a boquet of flowers.  
"So this is what the afterlife is like?" Asked Frank.  
He then noticed that there was a card set against the vase.  
"Sorry Frank, God rest their souls, Luke".  
Frank then threw the card aside and tried to get up, but felt a sharp pain in his back. He screamed as the pain coursed through his body. He then started to cry.  
"SUSAN!" He screamed. Feet padded outside the door and four doctors suddenly burst in and restrained the man as he flailed around.  
"Somebody get Mr. Castle some sleeping pills." Said one of the doctors. Another nodded and left the room.  
"I'LL KILL THEM ALL! SUSAN!" Frank screamed again, flailing more.  
"Mr. Castle, please relax. You will rip open the wound after we worked all that time to stitch it. Please sir." The doctor tried to keep him to the bed but Frank was able to get out of their grasp and punch one of them in the nose. The doctor fell on his butt and grabbed at his bleeding nose.  
"HE BROKE MY NOSE!" The doctor got up and was about to punch the man when the doctor who left returned. She grabbed him and whispered in his ear, before handing one of the men a cup containing pills.  
"Christ. Good night Mr. Castle." Said one of the men as he stuffed the pills down Frank's throat.

Rain beat down on the four figures surrounding the graves. Stone slabs containing Frank's family were lowered into holes. Frank watched the priest as he finished his prayer.  
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." He recited from his little black bible.  
Beside Frank stood Luke. Frank's wife's best friend stood next to him as well. His name was Jack Johnson.  
"I'm so sorry Frank." Jack whispered to Frank, wet flowers held between clasped hands.  
Frank did not respond. He stared at the wet graves, his face stern and unchanging.  
Luke also held flowers. When the priest closed his bible, he took Frank's hand.  
"I'm so sorry for your loss Frank." The priest said, Frank's two companions nodding in unison. "May they rest in peace."  
The priest then took Jack's hand.  
"Thank you sir." Jack said as they shook.  
"Your very welcome, God be with you."  
Suddenly, out on nowhere, a thin policeman ran towards the funeral. He stopped before Frank.  
"Mr. Castle, I'm Sheriff Smit of NYPD. We tracked the gang to Tampa, Florida."  
"What the hell were they doing in New York then?" Frank asked, his first words of the whole day.  
"We don't know but Tampa police are investigating."  
"Thank you sir." Frank said and then turned to his friends.

"YOU WANT WHAT?" Asked the gun salesman. "Are you supplying a small army?"  
"In a manner of speaking, yes." Frank Castle answered, throwing a wad of bills on the counter. "Hook me up with someone who can make my van a place to live, as well as outfit it with guns and computers."  
"Most of this is illegal you know." The salesman said.  
Frank threw more bills on the counter. "I hope this can convince you other wise."

"LOOK AT THIS! My family is only mentioned in the obituaries next to old people who forgot to change the batteries in their Life Alerts! John Travolta's kid goes and dies and its a huge deal, but when somebody not associated with a load of crappy movies has a family member die, they mention them in a small little article giving people no reason to care. I'm a national hero, I deserve better than this!"  
Frank crumpled the mornings paper and grabbed a picture of his family off the mantle piece.  
"It's time for vengeance."

Twenty minutes later, Frank's house was burnt to nothing but ashes.

Twenty hours later, he was in Tampa.

Eighteen hours before that, he tried on his new outfit and found it fit perfectly. The super heroes of New York, Spider-man and Captain America, they did not help him. He knew they were nothing compared to the power of a normal human being with the right armaments. His suit was all black, the torso containing a giant skull. An emblem for people to associate with him, like Daredevils horns or Spider-Man's spider.  
He drove in the newly outfitted van, and headed for Florida. He held a tape recorder in one hand and drove with the other. He pressed the play button on the recorder.  
"Punisher's War Journal, April 24, 2009. It is time for the corrupt to fall to their knees before me."  
The van was now his headquarters, his base of operation. One wall behind him contained a load of computers and consoles stacked on an iron shelf nailed to the walls and floor, and the other side contained a bed. The top of the vehicle was hollow, allowing storage for all his guns and ammo. There was a velcro piece you would pull to access the keypad, and then after entering the code, you could pick your gun. There was also a hatch that would allow for someone to get to the top of the van and shoot at incoming enemies.  
The van was bulletproof as well. It also contained a GPS that could take over the car and be used as a sort of auto-pilot.  
Frank continued driving forward, his thoughts clear as he continued.  
"I've been outfitted with enough weapons for a small army. My van has enough weapons and technology in it to overwhelm even the biggest computer geek.  
"It's my first time in Florida. Apparently it's a big tourist destination. Disney, beaches, illegal smuggling, flabby women in skimpy outfits, sun. It's the most corrupting place I could think of.  
"Little Frank Jr. always wanted to see Mickey Mouse. Maybe heaven has a Disney World.  
"End Journal Entry." He stopped the recorder and focused on the road ahead and on his strategy.

Chapter 3:

Frank Castle ate dinner in a small brick building containing a deli run by a Cuban man by the name of Arsenio Gustav.  
Frank had called the Tampa police that morning and they reported that Arsenio had been linked with a group of men in suits.  
When his sandwich was nothing but little crumbs, he got up and went to the front counter, holding his stomach.  
"MMM! That was great! Could I see the manager and compliment him?"  
Frank wore a dark overcoat over his skull shirt. It swayed back and forth with every step he made. A bit overdramatic, but people did find it a bit intimadating.  
"Sure sir. Please enter the kitchen, he is the fat man putting the sandwiches together." The young lady answered, pointing to a door behind her swinging back and forth like a pendulum.  
"Thank you." Frank walked around the counter and pushed the door open. There were three people in the kitchen, one holding a large cleaver, the other holding a spoon and stirring something, and then there was a fat man working with the sandwiches.  
"What are you doing back here sir?" Asked the fat man, looking up from his sandwich.  
"I wanted to compliment you. You're sandwich was perfect!"  
"Thank you sir. I would like it if you would step out of the kitchen though. Who let you in?"  
"The woman at the counter." Frank pulled a gun from his coat and pointed it at the fat man. "She's quite a bit richer. Payed her before she got into work. Said she hated you and wanted you to feel the wrath of the law. Explained to me that you have been working with the gang for quite a while and have been making everyone working here give up part of their salary to help you pay these guys. You threaten to kill them if they leave. Horrible owner. Deserve to be in jail."  
"Please don't shoot!" The fat man said.  
"Won't if you tell me where these men in suits operate from."  
"I don't know!"  
Frank aimed at the man's kneecap and shot. It exploded and blood gushed across the tile floor.  
"AUGH!" The man had collapsed at the second of impact and now strained as he tried to stand again.  
His workers just stared at him. They then ran at Frank.  
"Not a good idea. This will benefit you, you will get your money back and can leave this job. Don't swing that cleaver at me or else I'll make sure your arm can't swing anything in the next year."  
Both men dropped their weapons and walked past Frank. He then heard them pad toward them.  
"Tried to warn you." He said.  
"You are not the law, you can't do this to anyone!" One said.  
Frank turned and dodged a punch. He grabbed the puncher's arm and broke it over his knee.  
The other assailant ran away as his co-worker fell to the ground, his arm in an odd position.  
Frank turned to the fat man and ran to him. He put the gun to his other knee cap and whispered, "Where are they?"  
The man screamed. He was sweating like a pig. "THEY HAVE A BASE IN THE HONDU BUILDING DOWNTOWN! THAT'S WHERE THE "COLLECTORS" WORK. THEY ARE THE ONES THAT KEEP TABS ON BUSINESSES THEY OWN!"  
Frank got up and put his gun back in his coat.  
"WHO THE **** ARE YOU?" The fat man asked.  
"The Punisher." Frank walked out of the restaurant and ran to his van in the parking lot across a busy street.

The cops got to the restaurant and found that it was packed. The employees were happily doing there job and the cops saw nothing out of the ordinary.  
"The boss went home sick." The woman at the counter said.

The boss would be found in five days inside a garbage can, dead. The man with the broken arm was also found in there. The restaurant was closed down and the employees were soon working at better places.

Five days before that, Frank Castle drove relentlessly toward the Hondu bulding. It was a tall building in downtown Tampa that might have been fifteen stories.  
He parked in front of it and got into the back of the van. He pulled the velcro strap on the ceiling and entered the key code. He then pulled an AK-47 and remote bombs from the compartment before closing it and walking out.

"Look at these!" The security guard said, pointing at his computer screen.  
"That's hot man! Send me that video." The other security guard was drooling.  
"Stop that man."  
"Sorry." The guard wiped his mouth with his sleeve and then noticed the man at the door.  
"Who the hell's coming in at this hour?"

Frank walked through the metal detector without a flinch as it turned red and a siren went off.  
The security guards walked over to him.  
"Sir, we have to check your pockets. Open your jacket."  
Frank did so. The two guards stared in awe.  
"Whoa." One said.  
Frank fell to the ground and swept the feet out from under both guards, they fell and Frank pulled two pistols from his jacket.  
"Goodnight." Frank shot them both and then heard the elevator ding.  
He ran to the guard station, a circular desk, and hid behind it as men in black suits ran in.  
"What the he...HEY! DEAD BODIES!" The men were alarmed. Frank threw off his jacket and pulled all the weapons from it. The gangsters were all in front of him, easy prey.  
He took his AK and then screamed.  
"HEY IDIOTS!" He threw his overcoat in the air.  
Before they could grab their guns, Frank shot threw his coat and a rain of bullets flew through the gangsters. They fell like rocks, and some bounced back up before falling again.  
One was still alive and Frank went to him, placing his boot on the gangster's neck.  
"What floor's your boss on?" He asked.  
"NINTH! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"  
The man was hit by two bullets, one in the stomach and one in the foot.  
"Tell your boss to be ready to be punished."  
"OH GOD! I WILL PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!"  
Frank walked to the elevator and went inside. He pressed the button for the ninth floor and reloaded his AK. He then pulled a picture of his family from his pocket and kissed it before putting it back.  
"For you guys." He said.

Chapter 4:

The elevator door opened and Frank stepped out. He was in a hallway, office cubicles flanking him on either side.  
He heard a shuffle of feet to his left, and rolled into the nearest cubicle as shots went off. Sparks flew and pieces of the cubicle walls blew out.  
When the gun of Frank's assailant ran out of bullets, and Frank heard the satisfying CLICK as the man tried to shoot some more, he stood from the cubicle and blew the man's head up like a watermelon.  
Frank then went to the other side of the room. He walked by the last cubicles in the hall and was attacked from both sides by men with large army knives.  
Frank fell to his knees and turned his AK's stock toward one man and shoved it into his groin. The man fell back and groaned loudly.  
The other jabbed down at Frank. Frank grabbed the man's arm and broke it over his shoulder. He then used all his strength to throw the assailant over his shoulder.  
The man fell onto his friend, now in a comical position, his hand between his knees, rolling back and forth.  
Frank went to the double doors of the room and kicked them open into a large office. It had a mahogany desk in the center of it, a computer atop it. There were two walls of bookshelves on either side of the room, and a picture window took up the wall behind the desk.  
The moon shone through and was the only light. It was nearly pitch black, but Frank could make out a shape and easily roll away as the shape shot it's pistol.  
Frank then shot his AK and directly hit the man in his arm. He dropped his pistol and screamed. Frank then shot the window and grabbed the man's neck.  
"WHERE'S YOUR BOSS?" He asked, spittle flying between his clenched teeth.  
"Your called the Punisher aren't you? You punish the scum, right? You punish people who kill, who murder. I heard about you from Arsenio before we killed him. How is what your doing justified? Your killing under false pretenses! How do you know I'm bad? How do you know I have done anything? I merely work for these people, not kill for them."  
"WHERE IS HE?" Frank snarled.  
"Right now, you snarl and spit like a rabid dog. That's what people will compare you to when you become public in about two and a half minutes, when the cops I have called come and take you in. You're a dog, like Michael Vicks' though, you fight other dogs. But I am merely a little innocent puppy. How can you kill me?"  
"JUST GIVE ME THE INFORMATION!"  
"A casino in New York we took from those Mexicans. It is being reopened in a week. The boss will love to meet you though, after he got your message."  
"Where's your base of operations here in Tampa?" Frank dangled the man out the window, cop sirens growing louder every second.  
"Fort DeSoto. Enter through the front, middle cannon. It will take you to a sewer. Go through it to find the main offices. Now drop me!"  
"Not yet."  
Three limos were pulling up to the building, and men in black were getting out. Frank smirked. He pulled a bomb from his pocket and placed it on the man.  
"Goodbye." Frank said, dropping the man onto the limos.

"What the hell's going on up there?"  
"I don't know. Some crazy guys on our tails."  
"What the!"  
"It's a body!"

CRASH!

Frank pressed the trigger to the bomb and watched the explosion. The cars blew up into beautiful flames, contorting and dancing. The men flew about, pieces of the car jutting out of them, body parts blown off. Frank then heard helicopter rotors and saw a floodlight crawling off the building. He noticed police cars flying down side streets a mile and a half away.  
"Crap." Frank said, running to the elevator and going to the ground floor.  
It took him a minute to get to the ground floor and a minute to get to his van. The cops were right behind him now, and the floodlight was on his van.  
"Screw it." Frank drove off and opened his glove compartment, pulling an uzi and three clips from it. He placed two of the clips on the passenger seat, and shoved the last one into his gun. He then rolled down his window and sped up.  
The siren were growing louder. He sped up more and stared at his GPS. He pressed a button on it, and it said in a female robotic voice:  
"Where would you like to go?"  
"Fort Desoto, Tampa."  
The GPS showed him the way.  
"Oh man, wrong way..." Frank slapped his head before sharply turning the wheel and halting the car.  
The cops stopped as well and two stopped about five feet apart from each other.  
"I'm gonna regret this." Frank said, and then accelerated forward.  
He drove into one of the cop cars, shoving it aside. Frank flew forward into the wheel of the van and knocked the wind out of himself. He strained to breath as he passed the cops and drove toward the fort.

Frank Castle had evaded the police and made it to the middle of a beach where a fort resided. The front had three cannons standing together, the middle one had the largest tube. He jumped in before the cops could see him.  
Meanwhile, his van drove circles around the fort relentlessly. Anyone in its path would be run down.

Chapter 5:

Punisher's War Journal April 26, 2009.  
I've evaded the cops and am now a wanted man. I stand in a sewer at the moment, walking through the filth and bile Tampa has thrown at me. My van runs around the fort. I have the control in my pocket to stop it. The cops can try all they want but thanks to a man I met in New York codenamed Microchip, the vehicle has electric wire running through it, and anyone who touches it when I turn it on will be shocked unconcious.  
This is my final stop in Tampa. A man at the Hondu building told me the back entrance, and now I am going to finish the gang's operations here, then finish their operation before it starts in New York.  
My family is depending on this.

Frank Castle found a door leading to a restricted area. He swam through the garbage pool until he made it to the door, then he opened it, pulling a pistol from his back pocket.  
Inside was a large office containing lots of skulls and gold bars.  
And also, a man.  
"Hello Punisher, how are you?" The man asked, pointing toward a seat opposite his desk.  
"No. You stand." Frank replied.  
The man did so and showed he was unarmed, except for a controller in his hand.  
"Try anything funny sir, and we'll both go up in flames, along with this landmark fort. So tell me who told you how to get in without entering through the fort?"  
"One of your men."  
"Obviously. Now then, lets get this over with. I am the only person in the fort except for the SWAT's and police and you. No gang members anywhere. So let me ask you, how do you hope to get out?"  
"Maybe I don't."  
"Wouldn't have left the car running then."  
Frank sneered, and then noticed something on the floor. It was ticking.  
Frank kicked the rug away and then saw a bomb set for seven minutes and counting.  
"LIAR!" Frank shot the man and then ran back into the sewer. "Crap! I hate liars!"  
Frank swam as fast as he could through the garbage. He knew the sewer had to go somewhere. Out to the water probably.  
Five minutes later, he got to a pipe that lead out into the sea. The fort was half a mile away. Frank swam into the sea and stayed there as he waited for the explosion.  
It came.  
Bodies flew and chunks of the fort became projectiles.  
Frank swam toward the beach. He had used the controller in his pocket to get his van away from the explosion. Hopefully, the explosion hadn't destroyed it.

It hadn't. The van was fine, and the cops had not touched it. Frank turned off the electricity.  
He then drove toward New York City. The final confrontation was coming.

"Sir, this man named the Punisher will be coming for you if we don't act now! Our Florida operation has been destroyed by one man! We need to get you safe!"  
"I'm fine. We'll open this thing up in two nights. Make sure there are extra men to protect me and please get a flamethrower. I'll see how well this man burns. Maybe we could have s'more for dinner that night!"  
"Yes sir."  
"Let's end this once and for all!"

Chapter 5:

"Tampa, Florida. Tears are being shed over the destruction of a landmark of the city, Fort DeSoto. A man known as the Punisher who drives in a van was caught blowing up three cars and killing many. He was then chased, but escaped to the Fort, where he disappeared mysteriously. The fort then was blown up, thirty cops, twenty SWAT members, and three civilians were killed."  
Frank turned off the television in the back of his van and walked to the front of the vehicle. His GPS told him he was in northern Georgia.  
The news was scaring him. They had no pictures of his face, but had photos and video of his van. He was a wanted man and anyone who could take him in to Ryker's Island would win thousands of dollars.  
He wouldn't allow anyone to do it, not at least until he got to the casino and killed the man who ran the gang and had killed his family.

The casino was called "The Spot". Frank slowly walked toward the back of the building. Nobody was out. It was six O' clock in the evening. The opening was an hour away. He had a new jacket on, that masked ten different guns, four grenades, and a knife.  
Frank pulled a pistol from his coat and shot the lock on the back of the casino. He kicked the door open and holstered his pistol, trading it for an AK-47.  
He was in a hallway and four different security cameras focused on him.  
He smirked and said "Bring it on."

"There he is sir." Said the security guard in the security room. He pointed at a set of monitors built into the wall showing the man called the Punisher.  
"Good. Lets get rid of him. Where's the flamethrower?"  
"In the closet down the hall."  
"Good."

The first thing Frank noticed as he entered the large room dotted with green poker tables, were red pinpoints of light against the wall. Snipers.  
He opened a broom closet in the hall and pulled out a can of Lysol. He then threw it into the room.  
The pinpoints of light all scurried toward the can.  
Frank ran out and saw that all three of the snipers were huddled together. Unprofessional.  
The catwalk that surrounded the perimeter of the room was where the snipers hid. Not very well though. Frank threw a grenade up at them. They started to panic, until it was too late. They flew in the air like rag dolls, comically. They fell onto poker tables and onto the floor with wet squishes.  
Frank ran into the next room, this one containing row after row of electronic games. Slot machines, arcade games. Everything imaginable.  
Frank saw them run out of the opposite door. They all held machine guns and carried grenades at their belts.  
Easy targets.  
Frank aimed at the men and shot.  
He hit one of the men's grenades, and another explosion took place. Five of the thirteen men were killed in the explosion, the others were all able to run toward Frank.  
Frank hid behind a row of slot machines as a rain of bullets hailed toward him.  
Three grenades left. Frank used one and threw it at his enemies. Another five found themselves blacked out from Earth.  
The other three lost their guns in the explosion, and were running to do hand to hand with Frank.  
Frank threw down his gun and grabbed one man's punch from midair while kicking an incoming man in the face, knocking him into the third man. Frank let go of the man's hand and then punched him in the jaw.  
All three came at him at once.  
Frank fell to his knees as they all attacked at once. They slammed into each other and fell back, rolling from each other's blows.  
"DIE!" One yelled. Frank used his elbow and slammed it into the man's stomach.  
The two others gave up and ran. Frank kicked the other one's face again. The man fell to the floor in a puddle of blood.  
Frank grabbed his gun and ran into the next room, which held the entrance. On both sides of Frank were two fountains, followed by a set of stairs.  
And in front of him, were twenty men with pistols, and a man Frank knew. The man who had told his men to pull the trigger. The boss had a flamethrower.  
"Welcome Punisher. Seems your outnumbered. Ready to die in flames like most of my men?"  
"You killed my family. You killed children barely able to read! YOU MUST DIE!"  
"That's where I remember your face! Hard to forget a face that had such an expression. You tried to protect them, but you failed. They all fell like bowling balls. THUMP THUMP THUMP! Oh, lord I love that sound. The sound of pain and death!"  
Frank shot at the man. He ran to the side as his men were mowed down. Frank screamed as the men all blew apart. Their blood spattered across everything. And when his first clip was done, Frank jammed a second up the gun and shot the dead bodies.  
"DIE!" He screamed. He ran out of bullets, and threw the gun aside, into the fountain to his left.  
"Goodnight Punisher." Frank felt the fire flow over him. He was warm and then hot and then burning. He laughed between cries.  
His senses failed him. His body armor was keeping him alive, but he still was burning up terribly. His hair was burning, his face. But who could feel pain from outside, when it completely covered him inside. The fire was like a fly against his skin, he barely felt it. Instead, the memories flooded him. His wife and him getting married. Their honeymoon to Europe. The birth of both of his children. Leaving his family for Iraq.  
And then, he saw them and heard them:  
"Don't die Daddy!" Said his son, Frank Jr. "We need you!"  
"Please Frank, pull yourself together. The fountain Frank." His wife screamed at him.  
Frank's eyes opened and he felt the flames. He jumped into the fountain.  
He screamed, and then found himself rolled over, his enemy towering over him. The nozzle of the flamethrower was staring blankly at Frank.  
"Nice try."  
Frank then grabbed the man's legs and pulled them from beneath him. He grabbed the flamethrowers nozzle and stuffed it down the gangster's throat.  
"Nice try." Frank responded, smirking. His coat was in tatters. His guns were all either wet or had fallen from his coat while he stood blank. Both grenades had been thrown behind him when he first saw the flamethrower.  
Frank Castle was mostly alive thanks to the body armor. He still was missing quite a bit of hair and a whole eyebrow, but he was alive, thanks to his family.  
The gangster writhed below him, and Frank pushed the nozzle further down the man's throat. He then turned the flamethrower on and walked away as the man burned from the inside out.  
Frank then grabbed both grenades from behind himself and threw them at the burning man.  
The explosion sent flames everywhere.  
Frank Castle left the building as the fire spread everywhere.

He stood at his families gravestones when he heard the police sirens.  
He then turned around from the stones and saw a man dressed in red with devil horns. The man punched at Frank. Frank grabbed the mans arm in mid punch and then started a combination of punches to the red man's stomach.  
The red man back-flipped away, and then jumped at Frank. Frank grabbed the mans foot and threw him into a gravestone. The man got back up again, but this time held a pair of nunchuk like weapons.  
Frank felt the impact of the nunchuks, and then fell asleep.

"There you go boys." Daredevil said, helping to carry Punisher into a police car.  
"That's Frank Castle isn't it? The man who killed that Jihad leader in Iraq? He's a hero ain't he?" Asked a cop.  
"Not all heroes have the right ideals. Take him to Rykers and call any known friends or family. Make sure he gets a chance to see them before he's put away for all the things he's done."


End file.
